Bieber case draws attention to deportation issues

Feb. 12, 2014
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With a flash of a smile, pop star Justin Bieber joined the not-so-highly-esteemed celebrity mugshot club Thursday morning after he was arrested for allegedly drag-racing on a Miami Beach Street. We take a look at some of the more memorable celebrity mug shots over the years. (Police say Bieber has been charged with resisting arrest without violence in addition to drag racing and DUI. / Miami Dade County Corrections Department/AP

by Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic

by Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic

PHOENIX -- A 19-year-old foreigner receives a visa to live and work in the United States. But he has numerous run-ins with the law in this country.

He is accused of drag racing. He is charged with driving under the influence, resisting arrest and driving with an expired driver's license. He admits to police that he spent a long night drinking beer, smoking marijuana and taking prescription pills.

A neighbor accuses the same teenager and his friends of throwing eggs at his house and causing thousands of dollars in damage, spurring police to open a criminal investigation. On top of that, police repeatedly get called to his house for loud parties, and neighbors complain that he drives at high speeds through their neighborhood.

Legal troubles like these can often result in foreign workers having their visas revoked and deported. But that's not likely when you are Justin Bieber, one of the world's biggest pop stars.

Speculation over whether the Canadian performer could be kicked out of the United States has been swirling ever since Bieber was arrested last month in Miami Beach after being accused of drag racing.

As of Wednesday, at least 256,670 people had signed a White House petition calling for Bieber to be deported. "(Bieber is) not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible influence on our nation('s) youth," the petition says.

Immigration experts say Bieber's legal problems could be enough to put his legal status in the U.S. in jeopardy.

But they also say it's unlikely that a celebrity as rich and famous as Bieber will be deported even if convicted of some of the charges he faces.

"I don't think it will happen," said Carl Shusterman, a former immigration prosecutor who is now a private immigration lawyer in Los Angeles. "He's a big moneymaker."

Another former immigration prosecutor, Monika Sud-Devaraj, agreed.

"He's such a high-profile case," said Sud-Devaraj, now a private immigration lawyer in Phoenix. "My guess is they'd have to run it up the flagpole to Washington before they got approval to do that."

Which raises questions about the subjectiveness of the country's immigration system at a time when deportations have increased to record levels under President Barack Obama's administration, immigration activists say.

"I think it gives you a very glaring example of how twisted the deportation policy is and how bizarrely administrated it is," said Rep. Raúl Grijlava, D-Ariz, a critic of Obama's deportation policies. "It's pointless to think of Justin Bieber to be deported because he won't be. Money and popularity have its rewards."

Last year, the U.S. deported 368,644 people, which included both immigrants in the country legally and illegally. Of those, 628 were from Canada, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. The majority of those deported, 241,493, were from Mexico, according to ICE.

A look at O-visas

According to media reports, Bieber is living in the U.S. on either an O-1 visa or a green card. O-1 visas allow non-immigrants from other countries who possess an "extraordinary ability" in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics to temporarily live and work in the U.S., according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

In 2012, 70,611 people received O-visas, according to the most recent statistics available from USCIS.

Green cards allow immigrants to live and work permanently in the U.S.

In 2012, 1,031,631 people received green cards, according to USCIS.

Generally, it's easier to deport people with O-visas than immigrants with green cards, Sud-Devaraj said.

The law states that non-immigrants admitted to the U.S. are "deportable" if they fail to comply with the conditions of their status, she said. "And some of the conditions are you can't commit crimes."

Under an O-visa, a simple DUI conviction could be enough to get you deported, Sud-Devaraj said.

It would likely take multiple DUIs, or an aggravated DUI, to get you deported with a green card, she said. Aggravated DUIs generally involve people whose blood-alcohol level was found to be much higher than the legal limit or if they were involved in an accident that injured or hurt someone.

Bieber was not involved in an accident and his blood-alcohol level was below 0.08 percent, the legal limit in Florida, according to media reports.

Any kind of drug conviction, however, can lead to deportation, even with a green card, Sud-Devaraj said. Bieber has not been charged with any drug offenses, although, according to media reports, he told police he had smoked marijuana and taken prescription pills before his arrest.

"Drugs are one of those categories that ICE considers ... far more serious than your run-of-the-mill offenses," she said.

According to media reports, Bieber also faces possible criminal charges stemming from his involvement in the egging of a neighbor's home that reportedly caused $20,000 in damage.

A felony conviction for the egging incident could cause immigration problems for Bieber, Shusterman said.

Still, he said none of Bieber's legal problems thus far are likely to get him deported, given that he is "a major star" who fills lots of concert halls and "creates lots of jobs."

And even if Bieber were to be deported, he could apply for a waiver that would allow him to return, Shusterman said.

"I am not holding my breath waiting to see if he gets deported," he said.

Who gets deported?

Some immigration activists are using Bieber's recent legal problems to call attention to the nearly 2 million people who have been deported since Obama took office.

"It opens the conversation about who is eligible to be deported," said Carlos Garcia, director of Puente Arizona.

In October, his group tried to shut down the Phoenix offices of ICE to protest Obama's deportation policies. About one in 10 people deported nationally last year was deported by ICE's operations in Arizona.

In a nod to Bieber, some undocumented immigrants have Photoshopped blond wigs on their Facebook profile pictures and written "Look. Now I'm undeportable," Garcia said.

Garcia said Bieber likely would be deported if he weren't a rich, famous, white Canadian.

But he said many undocumented immigrants also contribute to the economy. And rather than deport Beiber, "the rest of our community should be treated like him," he said.

Grijalva said Bieber's unlikely deportation, despite his legal troubles, shows how the nation's deportation system hurts immigrants from south of the border and favors those from the north.

He is one of more than 30 House Democrats who have called on Obama to suspend deportations until Congress passes legislation that allows them to get legal status.

"It is a deportation policy that is skewed to have maximum deterrence effect, and the deterrence is on the southern border. It's never been on the northern border," Grijalva said.

Some Canadians would agree.

Lyle Pederson, 70, is a retiree from Regina, Saskatchewan, who spends the winter months in Mesa.

About 150,000 Canadians live in Arizona, and about 750,000 visit each year, according to Canadian officials.

Pederson has noticed increased scrutiny from U.S. immigration officers while crossing the border from Canada since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But he said coming to the U.S. is still relatively easy for Canadians.

"Even when we think the U.S. border is tougher on us, there is no comparison with people coming from other countries, especially to the south," Pederson said.

"I do think we get preferential treatment, though not as preferential as it once was."